


I will be waiting

by Adder24



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: M/M, Other, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:53:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24427564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adder24/pseuds/Adder24
Summary: Every year, on the anniversary of John's passing, Harold visits his grave, tidies it up, remissness and lays some flowers. It never gets any easier for him but this time around, he's not the only one paying his respects to a fallen hero
Relationships: Harold Finch/John Reese, Iris Campbell/John Reese, Jessica Arndt/John Reese, John Reese/Original Male Character(s), Joss Carter/John Reese
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	I will be waiting

_ I will be waiting _ _   
_ _ With a song in my soul _

  
It was that time of year again.The trees were bare, stripped of their leaves and exposed to the cold bitter air that swirled through the city. The grass had been replaced with crisp white snow that claimed the land as its own and the animals foraged for the scraps of the autumn harvest. Winter had begun her reign in New York early and as beautiful as the city looked in winter, it was a painful reminder for Harold, another year gone, another year without his good friend John.

The walk to the grave never got any easier, the physical pain would be unbearable as he forced his damaged body to make the trek through the graveyard. To take his mind off the pain, Harold would listen to the bird songs, identifying which birds often hung around the graveyard and sang their song in order to lift the gloom. He picked out a few tree sparrows and some Chickadees that often came to the graveyard to seek refuge, often he would whistle with them as a means to perk himself up and ease the heartache.

_   
_ _ A fortunate weakling _ _   
_ _ Which I have foretold _ _   
_ _ He raises his arms tied _ _   
_ _ Above the oppressed _ _   
_ _ Singing his sweet song _ _   
_ _ His melody opens up the sun _ _   
_ _   
_ It never got easier, seeing the headstone and the name that had been carved into it. A sorrowful sigh always escaped his lips as he laid the flowers down on the ground and proceeded to tidy the grave, removing the previous flowers left by others and picking away the leaves that remained.

“Always left to me to tidy you up John” Harold said softly as a small, sad smile appeared on his face “Was always worried about you looking neat and presentable, despite you moaning it never mattered”

He carefully brushed the snow off the headstone so that John’s name was visible, before he carefully spent time making a small little snowbird out of the discarded snow and placed it on the headstone. He then took a moment to absorb the tranquility around him, listening to the birds and the wind chimes placed at nearby graves, blowing gently in the breeze. He could lose himself in his thoughts, remembering the good times with John, the stories they shared, the occasional times they laughed and the lives they saved, the many lives they saved through doing what they did. Yet it was that thought that snapped Harold back, the thought that it was Reese’s unselfish attitude that led to many lives being saved through his sacrifice. 

Harold choked back a sob and looked at the headstone, to his surprise he saw a male Red cardinal perched on the headstone singing his song before he quickly flew off.

“.....John was that you?” Harold asked softly

“He was too brightly coloured to be John” Came a voice from behind, the accent British, presumably from the London Region.

Harold turned his head slowly to the voice and could see a tall, lean man standing behind him. He carefully got to his feet to face the man fully and noted the man was a similar height to Reese, he had short wavy black hair and piercing blue eyes. He sported a five o clock shadow, wore a dark blue suit and a long black jacket while holding some white lilies.    
  


_ Freedom rain _ _   
_ _ God has come _ _   
_ _ The rivers of blood _ _   
_ _ Pushed back in my veins _

_   
_ “Who are you?” Harold asks

“An old friend, I worked in MI6 and I was assigned a mission to work with a CIA agent, he was the agent”

“There are only three people who know where he was laid to rest, how did you find out?” Harold asked, now concerned.

“A mutual friend told me. I’m Luke Wade by the way” The man replied as he offered his hand

Harold tentatively shook the man's hand, watching him carefully and looking for any unsavoury surprises to appear

“It’s okay, I don’t work in the shadows anymore.” Luke says

He carefully places the lilies down on the grave and smiles when he sees the carefully crafted snowbird on the headstone. 

“This one told me to get out when I could, said a good soul like me didn’t deserve a life of darkness. I thought at the time he was telling me I wasn’t cut out for the job but it wasn’t till I was badly injured in another mission, did I understand what he was saying. I deserved a better life. I came out of the secret service and became a firearms instructor. He told me he was going to find a way out of the CIA and marry the love of his life. Did he ever achieve that goal?” He asked as he turned to look at Harold hopeful

But there was no real happy ending for John and Harold, once again had to tell his unhappy story. He told Luke what happened to Jessica, the woman John planned to save from her abusive husband, how he was too late and how he extracted his revenge on her husband. He told how afterwards, John became a shadow of himself, lived on the streets and hoped for death before he came along and saved him, giving him a purpose.   
  


_ She sleeps with her eyes closed _ _   
_ _ To dream of the past _ _   
_ _ Her mind has gone blind now _ _   
_ _ While her memory closes up the sun _ _   
  
_

He never got over losing Jessica and he never forgave himself for leaving her at the airport. If he had simply stayed, told her what she wanted to hear, things may have been different.

“She wasn’t the only one” Harold said softly

Luke looked at him and asked “There was another?” 

“Her name was Joss Carter.” Harold replied “She was a detective, a good one too...she found John after he was attacked by some youths on the subway, she dropped the charges against him and from that point on, in her own way she was his guardian angel. She saved him and it was evident that he had a soft spot for her…”

“So what happened to her?” Luke asks, fearing the worst

“Killed in the line of duty, broke his heart all over again, from that point on he believed anyone he ever cared for would end up dead. He tried, he tried to move on but in the end, in his own way he told them to stay away. He never got happily ever after… He just accepted that his life would be forever tainted with bloodshed.”

It was a sad ending for a man that had a big heart and Luke couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness wash over him, knowing that the man that told him to get out while he could, never got the chance to do the same. He carefully reached up and gently patted the headstone before he carefully stood up and took a step back, noting that the winter sun had slowly been smothered by snow laden clouds

_ Freedom rain _ _   
_ _ God has come _ _   
_ _ The rivers of blood _ _   
_ _ Pushed back in my veins _ _   
  
_

“How did you know him? What name did he give you?” Harold asked curious

“I always knew him as Reese throughout that mission, we kept in touch after and yeah…I always knew him as Reese, very rarely did I call him John and rarely did he call himself John. I never heard from him after two thousand and ten...but I heard rumblings he had moved to New York. So when I moved here….I thought I would come and find him, did some digging and that’s when I found out he had died… apparently he was on top of a building that was struck by a stray missile. Died an unknown hero”

“That he did...he was a hero to those who knew him” Harold said sadly, part of him wishing he had done more 

“Did they find a body? Luke asked carefully

“No...no they didn’t it’s an empty coffin in there but even if they did find him...they wouldn’t have found much”

He noticed the sudden drop in temperature and took it as his cue to leave, knowing the bitterness would cause his bones to ache and worsen the pain in his fused spine. He carefully crouched down in front of the grave and patted the ground gently.

“I’ll see you soon John” he said softly 

Luke stepped aside and allowed Harold to pass before joining him on the long walk back to the entrance, keeping at Harold’s pace and offering support when the man seemed to struggle, of course Harold refused. As they got halfway, the snow began to fall, large flakes tumbling down to the ground, covering everything that it touched. The birds still sang, some even bobbed around on the ground and laid new tracks while they foraged for food. It made Harold smile, knowing that nature still thrived and found a home in the gloomiest of places and somehow found a way to brighten it up a little.

As they approached the entrance, Luke pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Harold.

“If you ever need to talk...I’m more than happy to talk with you over a drink or lunch”

“Thank you Luke...I’m sure one day I will take you up on the offer” 

“Take your time, I’ll understand” Luke said

He turned on his heels and walked over to a black Mustang that was parked up in the car park and as he approached, the driver's side door opened up and somebody else stepped out, somebody who looked exactly like Reese. Tall, well built, greying black hair and was dressed all in black. He grabbed the door for Luke, watched him get in and then looked across to the entrance, making eye contact with Harold, both men pausing.

“John?” Harold gasped   
  
_ I will be waiting _ _   
_ _ With a song in my soul _

**Author's Note:**

> The song lyrics used in this story is for the song "Soul song" by Grey Daze


End file.
